Seal Member and Electrical Connector

ABSTRACT

A seal member for an electrical connector comprises a housing seal portion, a shell seal portion, and a linkage portion integrally formed with the housing seal portion and the shell seal portion and connecting the housing seal portion and the shell seal portion. The housing seal portion is configured to be pressed between a connector housing of the electrical connector and a mating housing mated to the connector housing in a mating direction. The shell seal portion is configured to be pressed between the connector housing and a shell enclosing the connector housing. The linkage portion is configured to be pressed between an end portion of the mating housing and a support portion of the connector housing in the mating direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d) of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-069974, filed on Mar.31, 2017.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a seal and, more particularly, to aseal for an electrical connector.

BACKGROUND

A waterproof connector, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No.2010-153072A, has an electric wire seal positioned in a rear end portionof a housing of the connector. The connector, for example, is a plugconnector and the housing is a plug housing. The seal comes into closecontact with outer peripheral portions of a plurality of cables. Theelectric wire seal is integrally formed with a housing seal portionwhich contacts an inside of a mating housing of a mating connector.

In an embodiment in which the plug connector is a shield connector, theplug connector also has a shell made of metal enclosing the plug housingand the electric wire seal positioned in the rear end portion of theplug housing is pressed by a seal cover. In order to prevent corrosionof a shield braid connected to the shell, another seal member, inaddition to the electric wire seal, is positioned between the shell andthe plug housing.

Thus, in order to block entry of water into a space in which a terminalof the plug connector and a terminal of the mating connector are housed,it is necessary to prevent entry of water both between the plug housingand the mating housing and to prevent entry of water between theelectric wire and the plug housing. Additionally, in the case of ashield connector, in order to block water from entering the braidconnected to the shell through a path between the shell and the plughousing or between the shell and the mating housing, it is necessary toprevent entry of water between the shell and the plug housing or betweenthe shell and the mating housing. A shield connector therefore requiresat least three seal members. However, since such a shield connector hasa large number of components, the manufacturing and assembly costs ofthe sealed shield connector are high.

SUMMARY

A seal member for an electrical connector comprises a housing sealportion, a shell seal portion, and a linkage portion integrally formedwith the housing seal portion and the shell seal portion and connectingthe housing seal portion and the shell seal portion. The housing sealportion is configured to be pressed between a connector housing of theelectrical connector and a mating housing mated to the connector housingin a mating direction. The shell seal portion is configured to bepressed between the connector housing and a shell enclosing theconnector housing. The linkage portion is configured to be pressedbetween an end portion of the mating housing and a support portion ofthe connector housing in the mating direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference tothe accompanying Figures, of which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an electrical connector according to anembodiment mated with a mating connector;

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the electrical connector mated withthe mating connector;

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the mating connector of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the electrical connector of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a seal member of the electricalconnector;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an electric wire seal of the electricalconnector; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

Embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter indetail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like referencenumerals refer to the like elements. The present invention may, however,be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as beinglimited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodimentsare provided so that the disclosure will be thorough and complete andwill fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in theart.

An electrical connector 1 according to an embodiment is mated with amating connector 8, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Throughout thedescription, a side of the electrical connector 1 to be mated along amating direction D1 with the mating connector 8 is defined as “front”,and the opposite side from which an electric wire 11 is led out isdefined as “rear”. In an embodiment, the electrical connector 1 and themating connector 8 are used for electrical connection of high voltageequipment, such as a PCU (Power Control Unit), installed on a vehicle.In order to reduce or eliminate the emission of electromagnetic noiseoutward from the equipment and/or the effect of electromagnetic noisefrom another equipment, the electrical connector 1 and the matingconnector 8 have an electromagnetic shielding function as described ingreater detail below.

The electrical connector 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a housing 10from which the electric wire 11 is led out, a shell 20 forelectromagnetic shielding, a seal member 3, an electric wire seal 12,and a seal cover 13. In an embodiment, the seal member 3 and theelectric wire seal 12 are the two seals of the connector 1. Each of theseal member 3 and the electric wire seal 12 is formed from an elasticmaterial such as a rubber or an elastomer.

In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the connector 1 is atwo-position electrical connector having a pair of female terminals 18.In other embodiments, the connector 1 may have a single position orthree or more positions. Each female terminal 18 is connected with oneelectric wire 11.

The electric wire 11 is covered with a braid for electromagneticshielding. The braid includes interlaced metal wires and, in someembodiments, a reinforcing material. In an embodiment, two electricwires 11 are positioned within the braid.

The shell 20, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, encloses portions of thehousing 10 and the mating housing 8 which protrude out of a metal member9. In an embodiment, the metal member 9 is a part of a case of a device.The shell 20 is made of a metal material in an embodiment. An endportion of the braid covering the electric wire 11 is electricallyconnected to an outer wall of the shell 20; in FIG. 4, a location in anouter peripheral portion of the shell 20 to which the braid is connectedis denoted by a reference numeral 14A. The shell 20 is grounded to acase made of metal via the metal member 9 and provides theelectromagnetic shielding function for the electrical connector 1 andthe mating connector 8.

The mating connector 8, shown in FIG. 3, has a tab-like male terminal 81for coming into contact with the female terminal 18, a mating housing 80retaining the male terminal 81, a rear-end-side housing 82 assembled ona rear end side of the mating housing 80, and a retainer 83 forsecondarily locking the male terminal 81. The mating housing 80 isassembled with the metal member 9 in an embodiment. The mating housing80 and the rear-end-side housing 82 are inserted into a hole 9A formedin the metal member 9 such that a part of the mating housing 80protrudes from a surface of the metal member 9. A gap between the metalmember 9 and the mating housing 80 is sealed with a ring-like seal 84.

Each component of the electrical connector 1 will now be described ingreater detail.

The housing 10, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, retains the female terminal18. The housing 10 is formed from an insulating resin material. When thehousing 10 is mated with the mating housing 80, a front end portion 10Aof the housing 10 is positioned inside the hole 9A of the metal member 9as shown in FIG. 2. Except for the front end portion 10A, the housing 10protrudes out of the hole 9A. The seal member 3 formed into an annularshape is mounted on an outer peripheral portion 10C of the housing 10.An accommodation portion 10B housing the electric wire seal 12 is formedin a rear end portion of the housing 10.

The electric wire seal 12, as shown in FIG. 6, has an electric-wirecontact portion 121 for contacting an outer peripheral portion of theelectric wire 11 led from a bottom of the accommodation portion 10B, anda housing contact portion 122 for contacting an inner peripheral portionof the accommodation portion 10B. The electric wire 11 penetrates theelectric wire seal 12 and the seal cover 13 and is led out rearward. Theelectric-wire contact portion 121 has a plurality of annular ridges onan inner peripheral portion. The housing close-contact portion 122 has aplurality of annular ridges on an outer peripheral portion located in aradial outer end of the electric wire seal 12. The electric wire seal 12also comes into close contact with the periphery of an opening in thebottom of the accommodation portion 10B through which the electric wire11 penetrates. The electric wire seal 12 prevents entry of water betweenthe electric wire 11 and the housing 10.

The seal cover 13, shown in FIG. 4, presses the electrical seal 12 tothe housing 10 from the rear side. The seal cover 13 has a protrusion131 inserted into a recess of the electric wire seal 12. When the sealcover 13 is attached to the shell 20 by a lock portion formed in theseal cover 13, the electric wire seal 12 is pressed between the sealcover 13 and the accommodation portion 10B and comes into close contactwith the outer peripheral portion of each electric wire 11 and thehousing 10.

The shell 20, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, entirely encloses thehousing 10 except for the front end portion 10A of the housing 10. Theshell 20 and the housing 10 are attached together by a lock portion.

In an embodiment, the shell 20 is formed by die casting from a metalmaterial, such as an aluminum alloy, a zinc alloy, or the like. Thematerial of the shell 20 may be any material as long as it is aconductor, and any suitable metal material, whether magnetic ornonmagnetic, may be used for the shell 20. A similar metal material tothe shell 20 can be also used for the material of the braid covering theelectric wire 11.

The shell 20, as shown in FIG. 4, is integrally provided with acylindrical side wall 21 enclosing the outer peripheral portion 10C ofthe housing 10 and an attachment portion 22 extending to a front end ofthe side wall 21. The mating housing 80 is inserted between the sidewall 21 and the outer peripheral portion 10C of the housing 10. Thefront end of the side wall 21 is opened, and the front end portion 10Aof the housing 10 protrudes from an opening 210 of the side wall 21. Theseal cover 13 is positioned on an inner peripheral side of a rear endportion of the side wall 21.The attachment portion 22 is fastened to themetal member 9, as shown in FIG. 2, with a bolt penetrating theattachment portion 22. The head of the bolt is covered with a cover 24made of an insulating resin material. The contact with a predeterminedcontact pressure between a back surface of the attachment portion 22 anda surface of the metal member 9 fastened together with the bolt ensuresa required electrical connection between the shell 20 and the metalmember 9 for electromagnetic shielding.

The electric wire seal 12 and the seal member 3 block entry of waterinto the inside of the housing 10 and the mating housing 80 in which theterminals 18 are housed. Water enters from the front end 20A of theshell 20, between the shell 20 and the mating housing 80 and housing 10.

In order to block entry of water into the housings 10, 80, it isnecessary to prevent entry of water into between the housing 10 and themating housing 80 and between the housing 10 and the electric wire 11individually. The seal member 3 prevents entry of water between thehousing 10 and the mating housing 80. The electric wire seal 12 preventsentry of water into between the housing 10 and the electric wire 11.

It is also necessary to prevent entry of water between the shell 20 andthe housing 10 or between the shell 20 and the mating housing 80 in themiddle of a path from the front end 20A of the shell 20 to the locationof connection 14A. As shown in FIG. 5, the seal member 3 has a shellseal portion 32. The shell seal portion 32 is pressed by the shell 20and prevents entry of water between the shell 20 and the housing 10covered with the shell 20. In order to prevent corrosion of the braid,specifically, corrosion of the location of connection 14A of the braidto the outer peripheral portion of the shell 20, the seal member 3blocks water from reaching the location of connection 14A. Though thelocation of connection 14A is covered with a grommet accommodating abundle cable including the electric wire 11 and the braid, water entersfrom the front end 20A of the shell 20 exposed from a distal end of thegrommet toward the location of connection 14A of the braid.

The seal member 3 prevents entry of water at a plurality of locations.The seal member 3 is a single, integrally formed member that preventsthe entry of water at a plurality of locations and also acts to suppressvibrations as described in greater detail below with reference to FIGS.2, 4, and 5.

The seal member 3, as shown in FIG. 5, is integrally or monolithicallyformed in a single piece with a housing seal portion 31, the shell sealportion 32 larger in diameter than the housing seal portion 31, alinkage portion 33, and a front edge portion 34. The seal member 3 comesinto contact with the housing 10, the mating housing 80, and the shell20. The housing seal portion 31, the shell seal portion 32, and thelinkage portion 33 are proximate to each other and so positioned as tobe well-fitted in a slight gap between the housing 10, the matinghousing 80 and the shell 20. In another embodiment, it is alsoconceivable that the seal that comes into contact with the shell 20 isformed integrally with the electric wire seal 12.

The housing seal portion 31, as shown in FIG. 4, is positioned aroundthe outer peripheral portion 10C in a middle position between the frontend portion 10A of the housing 10 and the rear end portion of thehousing 10 in which the electric wire seal 12 is positioned. An innerperipheral face of the housing seal portion 31 is flatly formed. Anouter peripheral portion of the housing seal portion 31 is formed withone or more ridges 311 extending along the periphery. The mating housing80 is received in a gap between the ridge 311 of the housing sealportion 31 and an inner wall of the shell 20 enclosing the housing sealportion 31.

The shell seal portion 32, as shown in FIG. 4, comes into contact withthe inner wall of the shell 20 since the shell seal portion 32 is madelarger in diameter than a rear end portion 31B of the housing sealportion 31. An outer peripheral portion of the shell seal portion 32 isformed with one or more ridges 321 extending along the periphery.

The linkage portion 33 extends radially outward of the housing 10 fromthe rear end portion 31B of the housing seal portion 31 to a front endportion 32A of the shell seal portion 32 as shown in FIG. 4. That is,the linkage portion 33 links the rear end portion 31B of the housingseal portion 31 and the front end portion 32A of the shell seal portion32 together.

The front edge portion 34, shown in FIG. 5, extends frontward from afront end of the housing seal portion 31. The front edge portion 34 isretained by a retaining member 17 of the housing 10.

The outer peripheral portion 10C of the housing 10 is formed with asupport portion 15 protruding radially outward for supporting the sealmember 3 as shown in FIG. 4. The support portion 15 protrudes from theouter peripheral portion 10C around the entire periphery. The sealmember 3 is retained between the retaining member 17 and the supportportion 15 located rearward of the retaining member 17.

The support portion 15, as shown in FIG. 4, has a protrusion 151protruding frontward that extends around the entire periphery of thehousing 10. The protrusion 151 is positioned on a backside (rear side)of the linkage portion 33. A distal end portion of the protrusion 151 ofthe present embodiment is inclined to the mating direction D1. Thebackside of the linkage portion 33 supported by the distal end portionof the protrusion 151 is also so inclined as to follow the inclinationof the distal end portion of the protrusion 151. A gap 16 is formedbetween the protrusion 151 and the outer peripheral portion 10C. The gap16 functions as a clearance when the linkage portion 33 elasticallydeforms.

To insert the seal member 3 in the housing 10, the seal member 3 ispassed through the front end portion 10A of the housing 10 and thelinkage portion 33 is moved to abut against the protrusion 151. Theretaining member 17 prevents the seal member 3 from falling offfrontward.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the housing 10, the shell 20, and the sealmember 3 are assembled, the seal member 3 is positioned between theouter peripheral portion 10C of the housing 10 and the inner peripheralportion 20C of the shell 20. The shell seal portion 32 elasticallydeforms by being sandwiched between the inner peripheral portion 20C ofthe shell 20 and the outer peripheral portion 10C and the protrusion 151of the housing 10 such that the ridge 321 of the shell seal portion 32comes into close contact with the inner peripheral portion of the shell20. Water is thereby prevented from entering the location of connection14A of the braid through a path between the shell 20 and the housing 10.

Since the location of prevention of entry of water for protecting theconnection 14A of the braid against corrosion is between the shell 20and the housing 10, unlike the case that the location of prevention ofentry of water is between the shell 20 and the mating housing 80, theseal member 3 offers no resistance when the mating housing 80 isinserted into the shell 20 upon mating. Sufficient insertability andmating can thereby be secured.

When the housing 10 and the mating housing 80 are mated, as shown inFIG. 7, an end portion 80A in the mating direction D1 of the matinghousing 80 is inserted into a gap between the housing seal portion 31and the side wall 21 of the shell 20. Thereupon, the housing sealportion 31 elastically deforms radially inward by being pressed by theend portion 80A. Since the housing seal portion 31 is pressed betweenthe housing 10 and the mating housing 80, the ridge 311 comes into closecontact with the end portion 80A of the mating housing 80. Thereby,water can be blocked from entering the insides of the housings 10, 80between the housing 10 and the mating housing 80.

As shown in FIG. 7, the linkage portion 33 is sandwiched between thehousing 10 and the mating housing 80 that are mated, that is, betweenthe end portion 80A and the support portion 15 facing the end portion80A. The linkage portion 33 elastically deforms, thereby suppressingvibration of the electrical connector 1 and the mating connector 8. Thelinkage portion 33 is positioned in almost an entire region of a gapbetween the end portion 80A and the support portion 15, and therefore asufficient quantity of elastic deformation is secured. The gap 16between the protrusion 151 and the outer peripheral portion 10C enablesthe linkage portion 33 to elastically deform smoothly.

When vibration is applied to the electrical connector 1 and the matingconnector 8 by a running vehicle or the like, the linkage portion 33elastically deforms mainly in the mating direction D1, therebysuppressing the vibration. The elastic deformation of the linkageportion 33 reduces or eliminates interference and ensures connectionreliability by absorbing a relative displacement in the mating directionD1 between the electrical connector 1 and the mating connector 8.

The electrical connector 1 has a reduced number of components since thefunction of preventing entry of water into between the housing 10 andthe mating housing 80 and the function of preventing entry of water intobetween the housing 10 and the shell 20 are integrated into one sealmember 3. Accordingly, the manufacturing cost of the electricalconnector 1, including the component cost and the assembling cost, canbe reduced, as compared with the case that individual seal members arepositioned between the housing 10 and the mating housing 80 and betweenthe housing 10 and the shell 20. Further, the linkage portion 33 linkingthe housing seal portion 31 and the shell seal portion 32 for theintegration of a plurality of portions having the function of preventingentry of water can double as a measure against vibration. That is,though not functioning to prevent entry of water, the linkage portion 33required for the integration of the seal portions 31, 32 adds thefunction of suppressing vibration to the seal member 3, and thereforeanother member against vibration is not required and the number ofcomponents of the electrical connector 1 is further reduced.

What is claimed is:
 1. A seal member for an electrical connector,comprising: a housing seal portion configured to be pressed between aconnector housing of the electrical connector and a mating housing matedto the connector housing in a mating direction; a shell seal portionconfigured to be pressed between the connector housing and a shellenclosing the connector housing; and a linkage portion integrally formedwith the housing seal portion and the shell seal portion and connectingthe housing seal portion and the shell seal portion, the linkage portionconfigured to be pressed between an end portion of the mating housingand a support portion of the connector housing in the mating direction.2. The seal member of claim 1, wherein the shell seal portion has adiameter larger than a diameter of the housing seal portion.
 3. The sealmember of claim 2, wherein the housing seal portion, the shell sealportion, and the linkage portion are formed of an elastic material. 4.The seal member of claim 1, wherein the shell is made of a metalmaterial.
 5. The seal member of claim 1, wherein the support portion ofthe connector housing faces the end portion of the mating housing in themating direction.
 6. The seal member of claim 5, wherein the linkageportion elastically deforms between the end portion of the matinghousing and the support portion of the connector housing.
 7. The sealmember of claim 1, wherein the linkage portion connects a rear endportion of the housing seal portion and a front end portion of the shellseal portion.
 8. The seal member of claim 1, wherein the housing sealportion has a flat inner peripheral face abutting the housing and aplurality of ridges extending around an outer peripheral portion of thehousing seal portion.
 9. The seal member of claim 8, wherein theplurality of ridges abut the mating housing in a mated position.
 10. Theseal member of claim 2, wherein the shell seal portion has a pluralityof ridges extending around an outer peripheral portion of the shell sealportion.
 11. The seal member of claim 1, wherein the linkage portion hasa first side extending radially outward from the housing in a directionperpendicular to the mating direction and a second side opposite to thefirst side extending at an angle with respect to the mating direction.12. An electrical connector, comprising: a connector housing retaining aterminal; a shell enclosing the housing; a seal member simultaneouslycontacting a mating housing mated with the connector housing along amating direction, the connector housing, and the shell, the seal memberincluding: a housing seal portion configured to be pressed between theconnector housing and the mating housing; a shell seal portionconfigured to be pressed between the connector housing and the shell;and a linkage portion integrally formed with the housing seal portionand the shell seal portion and connecting the housing seal portion andthe shell seal portion, the linkage portion configured to be pressedbetween an end portion of the mating housing and a support portion ofthe connector housing in the mating direction.
 13. The electricalconnector of claim 12, wherein the shell seal portion has a diameterlarger than a diameter of the housing seal portion.
 14. The electricalconnector of claim 13, wherein the housing seal portion, the shell sealportion, and the linkage portion are formed of an elastic material. 15.The electrical connector of claim 12, wherein the shell is made of ametal material.
 16. The electrical connector of claim 12, wherein thesupport portion of the connector housing faces the end portion of themating housing in the mating direction.
 17. The electrical connector ofclaim 16, wherein the support portion has a protrusion extending aroundan entire periphery of the housing and protruding in a direction counterto the mating direction.
 18. The electrical connector of claim 17,wherein an end portion of the protrusion is inclined with respect to themating direction.
 19. The electrical connector of claim 18, wherein theend portion of the protrusion abuts the linkage portion.
 20. Theelectrical connector of claim 17, wherein a gap is disposed between theprotrusion and the housing.